Can Microsoft Truly Issue 'Open Source' Licenses?
Yesterday, publisher Tim O'Reilly broke the news that at his company's own open source convention in Portland, Oregon, Microsoft General Manager of Platform Strategy Bill Hilf is planning to -- if it hasn't already -- submit its existing Shared Source Licenses to the Open Source Initiative, for certification as true "Open Source Licenses." The OSI is the designated caretaker of the legal definition of "open source."
But the question may rightly be asked: Is this a genuine move by Microsoft to enroll its Microsoft Permissive License (Ms-PL) as an official open source license that the community can recognize, or is this more of a symbolic act?
Congress Expresses Concern Over Digital TV Switch
The coming transition from analog to digital television here in the United States has some in Congress a little worried that any consumer confusion may come back on them.
On February 18, 2009, broadcasters will be required to stop transmitting programming in analog format. The spectrum freed up once the move is complete would be reassigned to other uses, including frequencies for first responders and new wireless broadband services.
Cisco Invests $150 Million in VMware
Following in the footsteps of Intel, Cisco will acquire 1.6 percent of virtualization company VMware from parent EMC for $150 million in cash. Unlike Intel, Cisco will not receive a board seat, but VMware said it would consider appointing a Cisco executive to its board in the future.
Facing increased competition from Microsoft and newcomer Parallels, the investments will help VMware maintain its lead in the marketplace. Through Intel, VMware now has closer ties to the hardware it virtualizes, and Cisco will work with the company to develop virtualization products designed for networking and datacenters. Both Intel and Cisco stand to gain from the transactions as well once VMware goes public.
BBC Launches Free Online TV in UK
The BBC launched its online television service on Friday, which is being called the biggest change to the way its viewers watch its programming in four decades.
The advent of content on the Internet is as big for the BBC as its first broadcasts in color in the 1960s, according to Director General Mark Thompson.
EC Charges Intel with Abuse of Dominant Power
This morning in Brussels, spokespersons for the European Commission confirmed that Intel was served yesterday with a formal Statement of Objections, charging the CPU manufacturer with paying for exclusivity with cash, incentives, and discounts in order to compel OEMs not to purchase AMD CPUs.
At present, the EC has not made public the names of OEMs with whom Intel allegedly made deals. However, according to spokespersons, the Statement does specifically name AMD as the sole party which Intel allegedly sought to harm.
Gen. Clark: Sensitive Gov't. Documents Exposed by LimeWire
In testimony before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Tuesday, Gen. Wesley Clark - the former supreme commander of NATO forces and US presidential candidate, speaking as a board member of and advisor to security software company Tiversa - cited a study by his company revealing that in a period of two hours' search time on the P2P file-sharing system LimeWire, over 200 classified US Government documents were discovered.
"If you saw the scope of the risk," Gen. Clark testified, "I think you'd agree that it's just totally unacceptable. The American people would be outraged if they were aware of what's inadvertently shared by government agencies on P2P networks. They would demand solutions."
Mozilla Weighs Options for Thunderbird
Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker suggested Thursday that its Thunderbird e-mail client be spun off, but is soliciting the opinions of users before making any final decision.
Baker said in her blog that Thunderbird is being "dwarfed by the enormous energy and community focused on the web, Firefox and the ecosystem around it." By spinning it off, she believes that the project would allow the application to thrive.
Office Communications Server Heads to RTM
The last week of July is often an important manufacturing milestone for computer companies. Earlier this afternoon, Microsoft proved that's still the case with no fewer than five major announcements in the development arena. A few hours later, its communications division said it is proceeding with plans to release to manufacturing tomorrow its ambitious Office Communications Server 2007 and Office Communicator 2007 (the client module) - the keystones of its Unified Communications strategy.
But this time around, adopting this new Microsoft product isn't just a matter of ripping out one piece of software and replacing it with another. UC is an entirely new mindset for corporate communications, and whether it's necessarily better than the current mix of landline telephony with cellular communications with instant messaging, may not be proven for at least the next few years. For businesses even considering UC, it's an investment that is certainly bound to become historic no matter what the outcome.
Microsoft Agrees to Acquire AdECN
Microsoft said Thursday that it had agreed to acquire AdECN, a company that deals with the buying and selling of display advertising. The Redmond company says the acquisition was a key part of its overall strategy to provide a comprehensive package of search and online display advertising to Microsoft's clients. Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
"We believe the addition of AdECN to the Microsoft portfolio is a perfect fit and will create more efficiency for the industry by forming a more robust marketplace between advertisers and publishers, aggregating more supply and demand. This is good for the whole advertising industry," Microsoft's Platform and Services president Kevin Johnson said.
AOL Heads in New Direction with 'Helix'
AOL has released the first beta of a new software application code-named "Helix," which pulls together e-mail, IM, Web browsing into a single user interface designed to ease multitasking. Helix succeeds "OpenRide," the software AOL pitched as an upgrade to its aging client.
Although it won't say so openly, Helix is essentially an upgrade of OpenRide; installing the former overwrites the latter. AOL's almost schizophrenic approach to application development -- Communicator, "Fanfare" and AOL Suite were all developed for a similar purpose over the last six years, but eventually fell by the wayside -- highlights the struggle the company faces in its ongoing transition from ISP to Web services provider.
Ballmer: 1 Billion Windows PCs by Next Year
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer boldly touted the success of Windows at the company's annual Financial Analysts Meeting Thursday, saying that the number of PCs with Windows installed will surpass 1 billion by the end of Microsoft's next fiscal year on June 30, 2008.
"There will be more PCs running Windows than automobiles at that point," Ballmer suggested. He also provided some guidance on sales of Windows Vista, announcing that 60 million licenses of the new operating system have been sold. 20 million copies of Vista were sold after mid-May, when Microsoft announced 40 million licenses sold in the first 100 days.
Microsoft Hungary Subsidiary Raided
Hungarian authorities have raided the offices of Microsoft Magyarorszag, the Redmond company's subsidiary in the country. Regulators believe Microsoft abused its position in the market to force computer makers sell only Office and no competing products.
"The GVH sensed that (Microsoft) likely applied a system of conditions and benefits -- rewards for loyalty -- for the most significant software distributors which gave no incentive to these distributors in selling other products competing with Microsoft Office software," the agency said on its Web site, according to Reuters. Microsoft has not commented on the news.
Dell Signs Retail Agreement in Japan
Dell said Thursday that it had signed a deal with Japanese retailer Bic Camera to sell several notebooks and a desktop model in its 22 stores across the country in August. The Round Rock, Texas computer manufacturer had a preexisting relationship with Bic, but only for kiosks in the stores where customers could order PCs from the manufacturer directly.
Dell's deal in Japan follows a similar deal the company struck with Wal-Mart in the US to sell its computers in 3,400 stores across the country and in 500 Sam's Club locations, and another deal with Carphone Warehouse LLC in the UK earlier this month.
Google To Team With Sprint on WiMax Portal
Sprint said Thursday that it will partner with Google to develop a portal that takes advantage of the company's planned WiMax network. The Mountain View, Calif. Search giant provides various tools for the site, including e-mail, chat, and other applications. The features that Google provides are enhanced by Sprint's network, including network bandwidth, location detection and presence capabilities.
"This collaboration brings what will be the best mobile Internet network together with the leading Internet search company," Sprint's 4G chief Barry West said. "It allows us to capitalize on the powerful mobility and Internet trends, and create wireless services and applications that take advantage of each company's history of product development innovation." Sprint also announced that it is providing APIs for others to build applications that take advantage of its WiMax network capabilities.
AMD Downplays Performance Factor During Tech Analyst Day
At the start of AMD's semi-annual technology analyst day conference, president Dirk Meyer and VP of marketing Henri Richard set the tone for the day-long session by toning down even further the relative importance of performance, including among consumers.
"No longer do we hear that it's all about performance," said Meyer during his opening remarks. Instead, the three pillars of the company, as he perceives them, are power efficiency, providing the optimum visual experience to customers, and thirdly, something of a surprise: affordable Internet access, including to emerging markets. This may come as a shock to customers and investors alike who never considered AMD an ISP.
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